Salvation
by Hyperpegasi
Summary: "I. Don't. Know. How. To. Fly. I've never done anything more strenuous than a glide... Jumping seemed like a reasonable way to get going."   "...Jumping off a building with no guarantee you wouldn't become a Sam-cake on the sidewalk seemed *reasonable*?"


If fanfictions were relationships, I would be a seven-bijillion-timing whore. =l That aside, new story for you. It has been waiting patiently for its turn and I figured, Eh, why not?

I do not own Danny Phantom, we all know this.

So without further ado, here is Salvation.

* * *

Sam perched on the very edge of the rooftop, looking down at the city spread out below. She wasn't sure how it would work... Maybe a running start would be better?

It was sure to hurt, either way, but maybe if-

"Don't do it!" A boyish voice interrupted her thought process, and she leaned away from the edge, only to find herself knocked even further backwards as something warm and muscular impacted her side.

She groaned as her breath was forced from her lungs: she sent thanks to **whatever** higher power that she hadn't landed on her back. She rolled over - or at least, she tried to. Unfortunately, her entire lower body was being squished under someone.

It ended with the (spluttering) offender's head pillowed _low_ on her tummy - his torso tangled awkwardly with her legs - before she disentangled herself and shoved him away roughly. Heaving herself to her feet, she moved away from the white-haired boy who had tackled her.

He rolled to his feet nimbly, and Sam vaguely imagined a few snowy feathers in the air around him. His hair tufted oddly around his ears, and if she was less put-out, she would have taken a moment to marvel at the amazing green shade of his eyes.

"What the heck was that for?" She demanded, hands on her hips.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I thought you were gonna jump!"

"I _WAS_." Sam glared - her feathered ears now visible, bristling through her hair - as she spread her raven-black wings in a gesture that would be considered (to put it politely) _aggressive,_ in birds. She didn't say anything more. It wasn't necessary. The Bird Generation, as the media had taken to calling it, had been exposed two years ago. Seeing teens with wings on occasion had become a reality, if not quite a norm.

He blinked a bit. "Whoa ..."

She rolled her eyes, folding her wings back against her spine in a way that was more comfortable.

"I didn't know . . . I hadn't seen you around here before-"

She cut him off snarkily, looking him over. "So you _often_ prowl the rooftops? What are you, some kind of suicide police? Or is this spot reserved?"

His coloration aside, he looked mostly normal. His clothes were mostly black - which Sam could appreciate - with silver-white highlights here and there: like his fingerless gloves, bootlaces, and on his jacket sleeves. Not to mention the little ghost decal on his shirt.

He chuckled sheepishly. "Nah. I like me too much to kill myself, and I only caught _you_ here by accident. I do enjoy a birds-eye view, though . . ." As he trailed off, he released his own wings. They unfurled behind him, ethereal and snowy, almost _glowing. _

She didn't think **that** was normal . . . but she tossed that thought aside. It didn't matter. She had found someone like herself. The shock on her face confused him, though.

"Uh, why are _you _surprised? I'm the one who just made a fool of myself."

"I thought I was a _freak_ . . ." She murmured, but his keen ears caught it.

"You might be," He agreed genially, smoothing the feathers on one ear. "But I'm not one to judge." He smiled, and it was an honest expression.

Seconds later, in a muted flash of light, he transformed. His hair, which had been a snowy shade a little lighter than his wings, was now natural onyx with blueish highlight, and his feathers a shade lighter. His eyes, even, were now sky blue instead of poison-green.

His clothing changed, too; from a black and white jacket over black T-shirt and jeans, boots, and fingerless gloves to a white T-shirt with red highlighting and a pair of baggy, non-descript blue-jeans with worn out tennis shoes.

Just when she had thought he couldn't get any weirder, too.

"I never introduced myself. I'm Danny." He held out his right hand, apparently unfazed by the look of abject _shock_ on her face.

She shook her head a bit, and offered her own hand. "...Sam." They shook once, but he didn't release her hand.

"Short for Samantha?" She pulled her arm, attempting to break his hold. He was weirding her out. A lot.

"...Yes. But call me anything other than **Sam** and I'll kick your ass."

He laughed nervously. "I-uh, I'll keep that in mind. C'mon," He tugged her hand gently. "Onwards, to the Bat Cave!"

She gave in, allowing herself to be towed along behind him. "The _what?_"

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "We couldn't think of anything else to call it. They kept giggling when we tried to call it Home Base."

She stopped, and he was forced to stop as well. "We? They? There are more like . . . like us? And now... One minute you're all-" She did some kind of gesture that he supposed must be meant to express the slight glow he had possessed before, "And then you're all normal looking!"

Danny chuckled, smiling wryly. "I'm sorry my sudden normalcy is so disappointing. This is how I look most of the time."

"_How _did you-!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the dramatic change that had overtaken his features. He looked down, inspecting himself.

"Oh, that?" He laughed, rolling his eyes. "My best friend is a genius. He designed these," Danny released her hand and lifted his shirt a bit, trailing one hand over the sleek, high-tech belt cinched around his waist. "So that we can blend in. Like a holographic projection, kind of. It superimposes the downloaded image over the wearer, and creates a perception filter around them. Or at least, that's how Tucker explained it."

The Goth raised her eyebrows. "You call _white hair and__** wings **_'blending in'?" She decided not to dwell on the techno-babble for the moment.

Danny smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, well. Yeah. _**That**_. I have people who might recognize me around here, so I had Tucker - my friend - add another setting to mine. Does the name 'Phantom' ring a bell, by any chance?"

The blank look he received was answer enough.

"Uh, guess not..." Danny made a face. "Not to sound arrogant... but how could you _not _have heard of Phantom? I mean, I've been around a while now, and the media _loves _to misrepresent everything I do."

Sam's eyes were suddenly downcast, and he realized he must have somehow landed on a sensitive subject.

"'M not from around here... Didn't get out much, I guess..."

It sounded fake, even to Sam, but Danny didn't press.

"Well, anyways. I'm kinda like a super-hero." He grinned cheekily. "Phantom is my secret alter-ego, and with the help of Tucker's genius-ness, I do my best to protect Amity Park."

She rolled her eyes at his playful tone. But somehow, she was glad he didn't take himself too seriously.

"Oh yeah, as for your other question?" He caught her attention, smiling gently. "There's a whole flock of us."

As her violet eyes went wide again, his hand found it's way to hers once more, silently offering guidance. "Come home with me, and I'll introduce you. They're gonna _love _you."

She actually thought she might cry. She w-... wasn't alone anymore?

And he was seeing right through her, which he found decidedly out of his character. Maybe she had been telling the truth about not-getting out much, if he; dubbed 'the Clueless One', could tell how much it meant to know she wasn't alone in this.

Or maybe it's just that he could sympathize.

He gave her hand a gentle tug, pulling her back over the edge he had originally deterred her from.

"Uh..." She cleared her throat nervously. "Idon'tactuallyknowhowtoflyquiteyet..."

Danny squinted at her. "Uhm... wanna run that by me a _tad _slower?" His voice skipped towards the middle of his statement in a tiny chuckle - one eye squinted up rather cutely - and raising his free hand, using his forefinger and thumb to indicate how big he meant by a tad.

Sam glared, emphasizing each word.

"I. Don't. Know. How. To. Fly. I've never done anything more strenuous than a glide." The harshness belied her embarrassment, but it didn't make her feel any better.

He released her hand, giving her a dark look. "So you were just going to _jump_ off a building, with no actual guarantee that you'd be able to make it?"

She winced. That did sound bad... "I thought it would make it easier to take off!"

He hmphed, re-lacing his fingers with hers and pulling her over to what appeared to be the fire escape. He helped her step onto the rickety looking metal staircase that hugged the building's side, and started down confidently: taking the narrow steps at a near-jog.

"Well **next time **you decide that jumping off of something tall would be a great way to learn to fly, you might consider jumping from something that _doesn't _overhang a _**paved road**__._"

Sam didn't have a snappy comeback for that one, so she just kept her mouth shut and focused on the screeching metal beneath her boots. She decided it was probably too late to mention that there was a much nicer staircase leading down into the building: that was how she had reached the roof in the first place.

Danny glanced at her and heaved a sigh, slowing his breakneck pace a bit. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said it quite like that..."

"It's fine," Sam assured. "You're right, anyway. I wasn't really thinking, I guess. It just..." she shrugged, biting her purple-tinted lip. "I dunno. It seemed reasonable in my head."

He paused, giving her a perturbed look as he leaned back against the rail. "Jumping off a building with no guarantee you wouldn't become a Sam-cake on the sidewalk seemed _reasonable?_"

She smiled, shaking her head at him. "Oh, shut up. You know what I mean."

Danny broke into a slow, surprised grin. "You smiled. That's the first time I've seen you smile."

Her lip twitched, and the smile turned into a playful smirk. "Shall we throw a party, then? Since it's _such _a momentous occasion," Sam teased, fighting back a grin. She wiggled the fingers entangled with his, swinging her shoulders and leaning forward.

As if in response to the coy behavior she had adopted, a smirk played across his lips and he cocked his head and leaned back towards her. Warm fingers tightened around her hand, and Danny's blue eyes bore into her violet ones.

An infinite moment later, Danny's cheeks dusted with pink and he jerked his eyes away. Sam felt her face heat up as well as her brain caught up to her body. He started back down the stairs - not releasing her hand - and lost in her own thoughts, she followed.

The first male she had met outside of her family and she was practically throwing herself at him.

"Uh, hey," Danny piped up after a moment, peering at her over his shoulder. "I'munna switch back to Phantom, if that's alright. I'm uh, kind of in hiding and … I'd rather not be seen around town as Danny; I just thought you might feel more comfortable if I showed you what I actually look like so you aren't surprised later, 'cause I can tell that you might have some trust issues and-"

"You're rambling," Sam informed with a smile, and the awkwardness between them dissipated.

"Eh..hehe, yeah, I was, wasn't I?" His hand found its way to his neck again in what was quickly becoming a familiar gesture.

The silence between them settled into a comfortable one, and after a moment he changed, true to his word.

Switching to Phantom appeared much simpler than his spiel had made it out to be. As far as she could tell, he didn't even touch his highly spoken of accessory to trigger the change.

He looked so much different, though. It was like magic as it washed over him; if she hadn't seen both facades so obviously tied together, she might not have made the connection.

...This staircase felt like it would continue forever...

* * *

That was a shit place to end the chapter. Meh. .

There will be a plot. I just have to cultivate it. Updates will most likely not be soon. Review, though? Leave input, let me know where you want this story to go.


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